Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
