Bolsonaro detained after being considered a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.