Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
