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 orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held 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 Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
