Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
