The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - 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 aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
