The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork 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 right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
