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Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities found he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The one-time leader was found guilty of orchestrating a military coup in September and sentenced more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a safety action after "new facts" emerged.

This involved trying to remove his ankle monitor and a call for a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, the judge said data from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the one-time head of state's "intention to break the tracking monitor to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

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

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your sofa? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so backers could seek divine intervention for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a embassy office", a announcement said.

The court filing highlights that the United States embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have provoked anger from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

The former president is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that he be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

Bolsonaro was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plan which encompassed plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the High Court judge who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The scheme was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the armed forces officials. Lula was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement took action and around fifteen hundred individuals were detained.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to take action, reestablish control and return him to office.

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

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.