The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
