The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
