Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing

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Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention 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 made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

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

They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

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

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.

Christy Fowler
Christy Fowler

A seasoned gaming journalist with over a decade of experience covering online casinos and slot reviews across the UK market.