Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.