Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
