Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.
