The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
