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

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under confinement pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This included attempting to break his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His son, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a embassy office", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Donald Trump, prompting him to implement a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience a detention review on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. The current president was sworn in without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, bring back stability and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him running in the 2026 presidential election.