Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, BrasĂlia.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.