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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments came to light.

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

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to request asylum through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which included plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 presidential election.