Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.