Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat 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 continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.