Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
