Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being held in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
