Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break 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 child.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
