The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
