Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
