Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys 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 conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
