The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight 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 2026 presidential election.
