Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.