Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data 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 getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have 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 Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
