The former Brazilian leader has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election 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, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
