Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges 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 period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
