Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.
