Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
