Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
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 tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.