Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years 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 participating in the next presidential race.
