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

The ex-president was convicted of planning a military coup in the ninth month and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under home detention pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the elderly politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the detention, Justice Moraes said information from the centre monitoring Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the surveillance device to guarantee victory in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his son.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could "pray for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our nation."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's ruling was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of arranging to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around approximately 13 kilometers from the former president's residence.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative United States President Donald Trump, causing him to enact a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a custody hearing on the next day.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the High Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with tracking devices.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he needed regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plan which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to arrest and execute Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The scheme was prevented because it couldn't obtain the support of the army and air force commanders. Lula was inaugurated without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, numerous his backers attacked and damaged government buildings in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces intervened and around 1,500 people were detained.

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

At the period, the legal team called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also prohibited from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.