Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
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 electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
