Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included 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 overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
