The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
