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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on digital networks on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.