Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.
