Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.