The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
