Jair Bolsonaro taken into custody after being considered a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.