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The former Brazilian leader has been detained after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the custody, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the tracking monitor to ensure success in his escape.

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

His son, his son Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on you to fight with us."

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the chance of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, the capital city, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

Worldwide Consequences

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Trump, causing him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept 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 last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to kill the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the federal district, Brasília.

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

The magistrates found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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

The former president called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.