The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a escape threat

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

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

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

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.