Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.