Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
