Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
