Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
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 tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
