The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
