Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers 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 conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.