Bolsonaro taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.