Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.