Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
