Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
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 digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
