The former Brazilian president detained after being declared a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.