Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, BrasÃlia.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.