Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of his move to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
