The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting 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 surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.