Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race 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 murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.