Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, 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 right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections 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 failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
