Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
