The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
