Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
