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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and sentenced more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the possibility of his transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which included plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the moment, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 national vote.