Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
