Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred 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 trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
