Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, 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 military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.