The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
