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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" emerged.

This included attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

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

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was determined responsible of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The one-time head of state called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.