The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
