The former Brazilian president detained after being declared a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order 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 seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.