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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a public vigil that could enable a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

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.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was took office without issue on the first day of 2023.

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

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

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

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

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 aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.