Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted 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 scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.
