The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience 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 complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
