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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. Lula was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.