Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
