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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 plotting a military coup in September and given more than over two decades in jail, but he remained under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after recent developments emerged.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could enable a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio, who holds office as a legislator, called for a assembly of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on social media on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of his "relocation to embassies near the residence, considering that the investigations revealed a history of organizing to ask for protection through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Worldwide Consequences

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, prompting him to implement a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the next day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that he be authorized to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he required ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of orchestrating a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which encompassed plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the support of the military leaders. The current president was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, restore order and return him to office.

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from running for public office until 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 national vote.