Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the judge said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
