The former Brazilian president detained after being declared a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor 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, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.