Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.