Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
