The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
