Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
