Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.
