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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in September and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This involved seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a summons to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president'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 protest called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a meeting of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will have a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that he be authorized to exit his dwelling for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which encompassed plans to murder his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing the former president's case.

The plot was prevented because it failed to get the backing of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the next presidential race.