The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a flight risk

Bolsonaro has been taken into custody after authorities found he posed a definite escape threat while under domestic detention.

The former head of state was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could facilitate a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a document approving the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his getaway".

This, it said, would be assisted by the chaos caused by the protest called by his son.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your smartphone there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our nation."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the home, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, leading him to implement a fifty percent tax on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that he be authorized to leave his home for medical treatment, saying he needed regular treatment for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

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

The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The justices found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

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 trial a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the next presidential race.