Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
