The former Brazilian president detained after being considered a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.