Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. 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 attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
