🔗 Share this article The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being deemed a flight risk Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement. The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews. Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed. This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight. Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape. This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son. His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening. His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us." He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation." Embassy Asylum Concerns Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said. The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence. Global Responses Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports. The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day. Latest Court Petitions It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance. They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments. Context of Sentencing Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula. Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case. The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023. But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital. The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested. The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and bring him back to power. At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh. He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence. The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.