Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which included plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
