Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
