Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil 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 the magistrate's determination was the chance of his move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
