Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
