The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
