Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk

The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

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

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.