Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, 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 barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
