The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, BrasÃlia.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.