The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
