Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long 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 court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.