Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.