Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
