Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.