Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I urge you to battle 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."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of the former president's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years 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 national vote.
