The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a escape threat

Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under domestic detention.

The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and sentenced more than a 27-year term in jail, but he continued under house arrest pending legal challenges.

High Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" were revealed.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a demonstration that could "allow for a potential flight.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, Justice Moraes said information from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement 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 made easier by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his child.

His offspring, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a legislator, called for a meeting of his backers near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday evening.

The senator wrote on social media on Friday: Will you battle for your country, or see it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I call on you to fight with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could "pray for his physical condition and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of the former president's move to embassies near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the United States embassy in the capital, Brasilia, is situated around approximately 13 kilometers from his dwelling.

International Reactions

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

Bolsonaro is being detained in a Federal Police station in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

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

They also petitioned that the former president be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other ailments.

Background on Conviction

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at keeping him in power after he was defeated in the 2022 election to his political opponent, President Lula.

Top judicial officials said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his VP candidate, Alckmin, and to arrest and execute the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the support of the armed forces officials. Lula was inaugurated without incident on January 1st, 2023.

But a seven days after, on 8 January, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.

The law enforcement intervened and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The magistrates found that the rioters had been incited by the former president whose scheme, they said, was for the country's army to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

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

He was also banned from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - a decade minus two years after the conclusion of his imprisonment.

The former president called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.