đź”— Share this article Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement. The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued 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 "new facts" emerged. This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape. Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway". This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child. His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend. Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us." He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land." Embassy Asylum Concerns Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said. The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home. Global Responses The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports. The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day. Recent Judicial Appeals It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring. They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems. Context of Sentencing The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings. The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023. But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, BrasĂlia. The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody. The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power. At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive. He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment. The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.