Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
