Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
