Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
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 home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
