Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.
