🔗 Share this article The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being deemed a escape threat The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest. The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges. Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed. This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee". Judicial Records Show Flight Fears In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape. This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring. His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening. Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us." He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land." Diplomatic Refuge Fears Part of the judge's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said. The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling. International Reactions Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods. Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day. Latest Court Petitions It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance. They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses. Context of Sentencing He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case. The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023. But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília. The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained. The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power. At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh. He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment. The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.