Bolsonaro detained after being deemed a risk of fleeing
The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.