Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest 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 "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.