Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
