Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
