Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
