Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, BrasÃlia.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
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 return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.
