The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
