The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
