Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.