Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
