🔗 Share this article The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention. The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews. Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed. This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight. Judicial Records Show Escape Risks In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway". This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child. His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening. Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us." He said the demonstration 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 possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said. The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home. Worldwide Consequences The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods. He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day. Recent Judicial Appeals It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance. They also asked that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses. Details of Guilty Verdict He was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula. Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case. The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023. But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília. The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained. The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority. At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive. He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term. The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.