Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.