The former Brazilian president detained after being declared a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
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 home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.