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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was sentenced of planning a government overthrow in September and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under confinement pending court reviews.

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

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a demonstration that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, the judge said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

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

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

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to ask for protection through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to murder his opponent and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was prevented because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.