The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
