Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
