Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
