Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
