Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.
