Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.