The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
