Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
