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 orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
