Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.