Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The police stepped in and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the next presidential race.
