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The former Brazilian leader has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a military coup in September and handed more than a 27-year term in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This involved attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.

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

The senator wrote on online platforms on last Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of planning to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative US President Trump, prompting him to enact a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being held in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a custody hearing on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be allowed to leave his home for healthcare, saying he demanded ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The scheme was stopped because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, Brasília.

The police took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the period, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from running for public office until the year 2060 - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.