Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
