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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 one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, 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 recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His child, Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to battle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plot which included plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.