Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove 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 serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president 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 government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
