Jair Bolsonaro detained after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.