The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later 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 competing in the 2026 presidential election.