The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.