Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
