Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
