Jair Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.