Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a military coup in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
