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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in jail, but he remained under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after recent developments were revealed.

This involved attempting to break his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the disorder caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

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

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your country, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a embassy office", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, the capital city, is situated around 8 miles from his dwelling.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader Trump, leading him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on last Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of heading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to kill the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The conspiracy was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, many his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The judges found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to intervene, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the moment, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also banned from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

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