Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
