Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, BrasĂlia.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
