The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, BrasÃlia.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.