Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.