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

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a military coup in the ninth month and given more than a 27-year term in incarceration, but he was staying under home detention pending court reviews.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the action to imprison the elderly politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved trying to remove his tracking device and a call for a demonstration that could "allow for a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the former leader's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.

His son, Flávio, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his followers near his father's house to take place on Saturday night.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your homeland, or see it all from your smartphone there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the gathering would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of the magistrate's determination was the chance of the former president's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Donald Trump, leading him to impose a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brasilia and will undergo a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to authorize him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that he be authorized to leave his home for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

Bolsonaro was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

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

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of his backers invaded and destroyed official structures in the capital, the capital city.

The security forces intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the national armed forces to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

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

He was also prohibited from running for public office 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 running in the 2026 presidential election.