Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
