The former Brazilian president detained after being considered a flight risk
Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.