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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who holds office as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also requested that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

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

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the time, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.