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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information emerged.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the court case a political persecution and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.