Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to kill 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 plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
