Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.