Jair Bolsonaro detained after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
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 included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, BrasĂlia.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
