Jair Bolsonaro detained 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 found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, BrasĂlia.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.