Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
