Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information were revealed.
This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
