Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme 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 overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.