Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
