Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
