Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes 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 escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
