Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city 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 authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.
