Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
