The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle 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 backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
