Bolsonaro arrested after being declared a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.