Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your couch? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, causing him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.