Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys 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 permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
