The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.