Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
