The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a flight risk
Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.