The former Brazilian president arrested after being deemed a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.