Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement 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 offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
