The former Brazilian president taken into custody after being declared a risk of fleeing
Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove 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 offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.