Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
