Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building 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 Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
