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

The former head of state was convicted of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This included trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which included plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 national vote.