Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.