Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of his transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.
