The former Brazilian president detained after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader'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 gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration 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 judge's decision was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
