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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

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

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

He is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Lula.

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

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the military leaders. His successor was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 national vote.