Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was sentenced of planning a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building 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 his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
