Bolsonaro detained after being declared a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.