Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight 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 running in the next presidential race.
