Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
