Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information came to light.
This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Worldwide Consequences
The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
