The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
