Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
