Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care 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 was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
