The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight 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 running in the 2026 presidential election.
