Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
