Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
