Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
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 home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.