Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly 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: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
