The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
