Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.