Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
