Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.