Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
