Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.
