The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being considered a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
