Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power 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 included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
