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

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos 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 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 observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his move to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, the capital city.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.