Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
