Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.