Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.