Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The former head of state was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
International Reactions
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
High Court judges 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 imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
