Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
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 found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - 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 military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.