Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of heading 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 was aware of a plot which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
