The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.