Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.
