Jair Bolsonaro arrested after being considered a escape threat
Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son FlĂ¡vio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz InĂ¡cio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
