Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
