Bolsonaro detained after being considered a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
