Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
