Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a escape threat
Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.