Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
