Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.
High Court Judge the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Escape Risks
In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.
His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.
The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
The former president was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The judges found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later 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 presidential election.
