Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing 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 complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.