Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
