Bolsonaro detained after being declared a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
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 electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.