The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight 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 2026 national vote.
