Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: 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 gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the protesters 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, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
