Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested 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
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
