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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under house arrest.

The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments came to light.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a summons to a public vigil that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the potential of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to murder Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the support of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

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

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.