Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's move to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
