Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
