The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
