The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
