Jair Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.