Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.