Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in last fall and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
