Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
