Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
