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

The former head of state was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in last fall and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This included seeking to disable his electronic bracelet and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be assisted by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Will you battle for your homeland, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of the former president's transfer to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a embassy office", a statement said.

The legal document highlights that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow conservative nationalist US President Trump, causing him to implement a fifty percent tax on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he knew of a plan which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was prevented because it didn't receive the backing of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were detained.

The judges found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until 2060 - eight years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the trial a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 presidential election.