Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
