Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.