Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.
This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also requested that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Background on Conviction
The former president was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
