Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, 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 seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.