The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.
