Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
