Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
