The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.