The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement 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 chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.
