The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
