Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.