The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
