The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record 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, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
