Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.
