The former Brazilian president detained after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, BrasÃlia.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.
