Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.