Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
