The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data 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 assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.
