Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.
