Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the unit overseeing 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 "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
