Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's move to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters 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 period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - 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 intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.
