Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
