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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

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

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, Brasilia, is situated around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader President Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also requested that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which involved plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

At the period, the legal team called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the next presidential race.