Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, 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 decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.