Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall 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 action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
