The former Brazilian president detained after being declared a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, 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 "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.