Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
