Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
