Jair Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.