Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
