Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.