Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? 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 country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
