The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, 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 supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
