The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president 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 stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
