Bolsonaro detained after being considered a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.