🔗 Share this article Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a flight risk Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement. The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews. Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed. This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee". Court Filing Details Escape Concerns In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape. This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring. His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening. The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us." He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country." Foreign Shelter Risks Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said. The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling. Worldwide Consequences The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports. The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day. Latest Court Petitions It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices. They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems. Background on Conviction The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula. High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial. The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023. But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital. The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested. The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power. At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe". He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term. The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.