The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
