The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
