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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.