Bolsonaro detained after being considered a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.