Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
