Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.