Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
