Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.