Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
