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

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after recent developments came to light.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the custody, Justice Moraes said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

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

His son, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

The senator wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your phone there on your settee? I urge you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of his transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

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

He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he required regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

He was found guilty of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, Brasília.

The security forces took action and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the 2026 presidential election.