Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
