The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill 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 armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
