The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing

The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

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

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.