The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.