The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
