Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
