The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
