Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment 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 senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
