Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a paperwork permitting the detention, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.
This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.
His son, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Global Responses
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the next day.
Recent Judicial Appeals
It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also asked that the former president be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.
Details of Guilty Verdict
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.
The plot was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.
The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.
The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.
