Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last 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 petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
