Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
