Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
