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 found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
