Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge 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 escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included 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 overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
