Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.
