Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
