Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? 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 return of democracy in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
