Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
