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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could enable a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

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

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the time, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.