Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The former head of state was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to struggle 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."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.
