Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official 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 seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.