Bolsonaro taken into custody after being declared a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme 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 seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.