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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was convicted of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and given more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after recent developments were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to struggle with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of his "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he demanded ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was thwarted because it didn't receive the backing of the armed forces officials. His successor was took office without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

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

He was also prohibited from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.