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 government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
