The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
