Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
