Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.
The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.
High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.
This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.
In a document approving the custody, the judge said information from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the protest called by his child.
His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.
Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the demonstration would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.
The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.
Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.
The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.
It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.
They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.
Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.
But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.
The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.
The justices found that the protesters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and bring him back to power.
At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the court case a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
Maya Chen is a tech journalist and lifestyle blogger with over a decade of experience covering digital trends and cultural shifts.
