Jair Bolsonaro detained after being declared a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest 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 protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.