Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers 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 potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
