The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
