Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
