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

The one-time leader was convicted of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of heading a plot aimed at maintaining his control 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 encompassed plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 national vote.