Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.