Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of the former president's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, prompting him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also requested that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.
The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.
