The former Brazilian president detained after being considered a flight risk

Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The former head of state was sentenced of plotting a armed takeover in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.

This included trying to remove his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his supporters near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: "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 struggle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could "pray for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to ask for protection through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President Trump, leading him to enact a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of heading a scheme aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the national vote to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was stopped because it failed to get the backing of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without issue on the first day of 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from running for public office until 2060 - eight years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.