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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This included seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.

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

His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's move to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, causing him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

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

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a scheme which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

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