Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.
