Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in prison, 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 preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
