The former Brazilian president arrested 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 former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.