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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

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

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his child.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your couch? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being held in a national police facility in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the national capital, the capital city.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.