Jair Bolsonaro detained after being declared a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling 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 was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.