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

The one-time leader was found guilty of plotting a military coup in September and given more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under confinement pending appeals.

Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" came to light.

This encompassed seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.

Court Filing Details Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's "intention to break the electronic ankle bracelet to guarantee victory in his getaway".

This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the protest called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or observe everything from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's decision was the potential of his "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The judicial paperwork underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist United States President Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

Bolsonaro is being kept in a Federal Police station in the capital and will experience 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 Top Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was convicted of heading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the presidential race to his left-wing rival, President Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the Supreme Court justice who has been overseeing the former president's case.

The plot was thwarted because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, many his backers stormed and vandalised official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to take action, reestablish control and reinstate his authority.

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

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 trial a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him competing in the 2026 presidential election.