Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
