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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The former head of state was found guilty of plotting a armed takeover in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could enable a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's decision was the chance of his move to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

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

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

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

They also asked that he be permitted to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

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

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the next presidential race.