Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which included plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
