Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.
The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under confinement pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.
Court Filing Details Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove 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 child.
His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."
He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the magistrate's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.
The judicial paperwork highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.
But a following week, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.
The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.
The justices found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.
