Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
