Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.