Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
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 Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy 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 knew of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
