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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in the ninth month and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed attempting to break his ankle monitor and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his child.

His son, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on social media on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I urge you to struggle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the return of democracy in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a history of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a custody hearing on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the next presidential race.