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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a document approving the detention, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a gathering of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to struggle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the potential of his transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

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

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plot which encompassed plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.