Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works 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 online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
