Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
