Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
