Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.