Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.
