The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
