Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, 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 seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
