Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.