Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
