Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of plotting a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of his move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was determined responsible of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
