Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
