Bolsonaro detained after being considered a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information 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 disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.