The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice 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 military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, BrasĂlia.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
