The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, BrasÃlia.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.