Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.
The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.
The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.
They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Background on Conviction
He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.
The one-time head of state called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
