The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
