Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
