The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
