Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking 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 confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, BrasĂlia.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.