Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
