Bolsonaro detained after being considered a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.