Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
