Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.