Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.