Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
