Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
