The former Brazilian president detained after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position 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 competing in the 2026 national vote.
