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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after fresh information emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, 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.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was convicted of leading a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.