The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.