Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.