Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".
Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
The senator wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Embassy Asylum Concerns
Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
He is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.
Latest Court Petitions
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.
