Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
