Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.