The former Brazilian president arrested after being deemed a escape threat
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.