The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
