Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement 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 fresh information came to light.
This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.
His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of the former president's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from his dwelling.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.
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 ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
