Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
