Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
