The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
