The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
