Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.