Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
