Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? 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 reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.