Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
