The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being deemed a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.