Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
