Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.