Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.