Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.
