The former Brazilian president detained after being deemed a flight risk
The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
