The former Brazilian president arrested after being deemed a flight risk

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 government overthrow in last fall and given more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a public vigil that could "allow for a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Concerns

In a filing authorising the detention, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the centre monitoring his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the confusion caused by the demonstration called by his child.

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his followers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

The senator wrote on online platforms on the previous day: "Are you going to fight for your homeland, or see it all from your phone there on your settee? I call on you to struggle with us."

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

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The court filing underscores that the United States embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have provoked anger from fellow populist conservative US President President Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will have a detention review on the following day.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on the previous day that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to depart his residence for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was found guilty of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

Supreme Court justices said that he was aware of a plot which encompassed plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

The plot was thwarted because it failed to get the endorsement of the military leaders. His successor was took office without problem on the first day of 2023.

But a following week, on 8 January, many his followers stormed and vandalised government buildings in the capital, Brazil's capital.

The police intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been encouraged by him whose strategy, they said, was for the country's army to take action, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also banned from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

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