Jair Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.