The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes 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 getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
