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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 military coup in the ninth month and handed more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he continued under confinement pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could facilitate a chance to flee".

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the ex-president's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the return of democracy in our country."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of planning to seek refuge through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being kept in a national police facility in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded regular treatment for lung conditions and other health problems.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority 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 plot which involved plans to kill his opponent and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was sworn in without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around 1,500 people were arrested.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the moment, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.