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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under home confinement.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said data from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

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

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

He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to implement a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will experience a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was convicted of orchestrating a scheme 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 knew of a scheme which involved plans to assassinate Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was took office without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters invaded and destroyed official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.