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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was convicted of orchestrating a government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, Brasilia, is located around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, leading him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the his legal team asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also petitioned that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the national capital, Brazil's capital.

The police took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him competing in the next presidential race.