Jair Bolsonaro detained after being considered a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.