The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of his move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
