The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
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 strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.