Bolsonaro arrested after being deemed a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.