Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.