Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
