Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing

Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.