Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained 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 the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.