Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
