Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
