Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
