Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
