Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald 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 Brasilia and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
