The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing 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 serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army 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 campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.