The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
