The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.