Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.