The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
