Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
