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

The ex-president was convicted of orchestrating a military coup in September and given more than a 27-year term in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

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

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the judge said data from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his getaway".

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

His offspring, Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a gathering of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

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

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

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of Justice Moraes's ruling was the possibility of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the residence, considering that the probes revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist American leader President Trump, leading him to enact a half-rate duty on Brazilian product imports.

Bolsonaro is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the Top Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.

They also petitioned that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for healthcare, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he was defeated in the national vote to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which included plans to kill his opponent and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been overseeing Bolsonaro's trial.

The conspiracy was prevented because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the armed forces officials. The current president was inaugurated without issue on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, the capital city.

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

The magistrates found that the protesters had been encouraged by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, restore order and reinstate his authority.

At the time, his attorneys called the over 27-year sentence "absurdly excessive.

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

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 presidential election.