Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.