The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
