Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
