Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.
