Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.