Jair Bolsonaro detained after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.