Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous his followers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
