Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, 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 seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.