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Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

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

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

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

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.