The former Brazilian president taken into custody 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 former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
