Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
