🔗 Share this article Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest. The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals. High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged. This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee". Court Filing Details Escape Risks In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight. This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child. His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening. Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us." He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country." Diplomatic Refuge Fears Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said. The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home. International Reactions His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil. The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday. Recent Judicial Appeals It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices. They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses. Context of Sentencing He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula. Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case. The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023. But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília. The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained. The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office. At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive. He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term. The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.