The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being considered a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, BrasĂlia.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
