Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
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 sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
