Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment 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 holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.