Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the national capital, Brasília.
The police took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months 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 legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
