Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.