Jair Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.
The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.
This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".
In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.
This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His offspring, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.
The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."
Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.
The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.
The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being detained in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.
It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.
They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.
The former president was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.
Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.
The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.
But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.
The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.
The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.
At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.
The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.
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