Bolsonaro detained after being considered a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.