Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated 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 followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
