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Jair Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the arrest, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his supporters near his father's house to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his health and for the return of democracy in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of his "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a record of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a national police facility in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the national vote to his ideological adversary, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without incident on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from campaigning for office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The one-time head of state called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the next presidential race.