The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
