Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody 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 sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, BrasĂlia.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.