Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
