Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.