Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.