The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
