Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing his home detention 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 assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, BrasĂlia.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged 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 decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
