Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
