Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
