Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.
