Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
