Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.