Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.