Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending appeals.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed attempting to break his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Escape Risks
In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.
His son, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.
The senator wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Foreign Shelter Risks
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of his move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.
The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
International Reactions
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Context of Sentencing
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.
The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.
He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
