Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was convicted of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.
Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears
In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our nation."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.
Worldwide Consequences
Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.
Latest Court Petitions
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 domestic detention, with tracking devices.
They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.
Details of Guilty Verdict
He was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.
The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.
The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the moment, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.
The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.
