Jair Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.