The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
