Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit 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
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.