Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and handed more than over two decades in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.
This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his child.
His child, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.
The judicial paperwork underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.
Recent Legal Requests
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 tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. The current president was took office without incident on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The security forces took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also banned from seeking elected position until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.
