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

The ex-president was found guilty of orchestrating a armed takeover in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending court reviews.

High Court Judge Justice Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a preventative measure after recent developments were revealed.

This encompassed attempting to break his tracking device and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said information from the facility tracking the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's "intention to break the surveillance device to ensure success in his escape.

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a gathering of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or observe everything from your phone there on your settee? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

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

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the capital, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 8 miles from his dwelling.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, prompting him to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian product imports.

He is being detained in a Federal Police station in the capital and will have a imprisonment assessment on the next day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be allowed to depart his residence for medical treatment, saying he needed frequent medical attention for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of heading a plot aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his ideological adversary, President Lula.

High Court judges said that he knew of a scheme which included plans to assassinate Lula and his vice-presidential running mate, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the support of the armed forces officials. His successor was inaugurated without incident on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on the eighth of January, thousands of his followers attacked and damaged government buildings in the national capital, the capital city.

The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.

The judges found that the protesters had been encouraged by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

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

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him participating in the next presidential race.