The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
