Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
