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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's plan to remove the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a national police facility in the capital 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 authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that he be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.