Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.
