The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.