Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.