Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.
