Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
