Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station 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 complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
