Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge 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. The current president was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
