Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
