Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have 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 Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
