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 domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.