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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his offspring.

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

His son wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

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