Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
