Jair Bolsonaro detained after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.