Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
