Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty 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 custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.