Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.
