Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, 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 the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, BrasĂlia.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.