Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
