Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
