Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
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 getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
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 tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
