Bolsonaro detained after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.