Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.