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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio, who works as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on last Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a scheme which encompassed plans to assassinate his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the backing of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many his backers attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, the capital city.

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

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

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The ex-leader called the court case a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.