The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being deemed a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.