Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.