Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a detention review on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that he be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.
At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
