Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.