Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
