Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.
This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later 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 running in the 2026 national vote.
