Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
