Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.
This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.
His son, Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday 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 requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Context of Sentencing
Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.
The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.
At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The former president called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.
