Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
