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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's transfer to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, causing him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of heading a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The one-time head of state called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.