Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
