Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old 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 facilitate a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment 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 serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
