Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
