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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" came to light.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of his move to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, thousands of his followers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

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

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