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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I urge you to struggle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of the former president's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to assassinate the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.