Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
