Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
