The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a escape threat

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

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the septuagenarian politician was a precautionary step after fresh information emerged.

This included trying to remove his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Legal Document Reveals Escape Risks

In a filing authorising the arrest, the judge said information from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

This, it said, would be made easier by the confusion caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a senator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on the previous day: Will you battle for your homeland, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your sofa? I call on 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 land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the possibility of the former president's move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.

The judicial paperwork emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, Brasilia, is positioned around 8 miles from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will undergo a detention review on the following day.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to allow him to complete his entire prison term under house arrest, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that he be allowed to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded regular treatment for pulmonary infections and other illnesses.

Background on Conviction

He was convicted of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the presidential race to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he had knowledge of a plan which included plans to assassinate the current president and his vice-presidential running mate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing Bolsonaro's trial.

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

But a seven days after, on 8 January, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The law enforcement stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were taken into custody.

The judges found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose plan, they said, was for the country's army to step in, restore order and bring him back to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence "absurdly excessive.

He was also barred from campaigning for office until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The ex-leader called the court case a political persecution and said it was designed to prevent him running in the 2026 presidential election.