The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being considered a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.