Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
