Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
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 targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.
