Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, 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 right-wing populist American leader President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
