Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
