The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
