Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, BrasÃlia.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
