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

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a government overthrow in last fall and sentenced more than over two decades in incarceration, but he remained under confinement pending legal challenges.

Top Judicial Official Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the septuagenarian politician was a safety action after "new facts" were revealed.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a summons to a demonstration that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a paperwork permitting the custody, the magistrate said information from the centre monitoring the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's aim to disable the surveillance device to ensure success in his flight.

This, it said, would be "facilitated by the chaos caused by the gathering called by his offspring.

His offspring, his son Flávio, who serves as a senator, called for a meeting of his backers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on the weekend.

Flávio Bolsonaro wrote on digital networks on the previous day: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your settee? I invite you to battle with us."

He said the demonstration would be so followers could "pray for his physical condition and for the return of democracy in our land."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the magistrate's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to diplomatic missions near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a record of organizing to request asylum through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing highlights that the US embassy in the national capital, Brazil's capital, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

Global Responses

His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President Trump, causing him to enact a 50% tariff on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will experience a custody hearing on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.

They also requested that the former president be allowed to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other illnesses.

Context of Sentencing

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he lost the 2022 election to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to murder Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Justice Moraes - the High Court judge who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on 8 January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed official structures in the federal district, Brazil's capital.

The security forces stepped in and around 1,500 people were detained.

The justices found that the demonstrators had been incited by him whose plan, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, reestablish control and bring him back to power.

At the time, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the 27 years and three months sentence extremely harsh.

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

The ex-leader called the legal proceedings a targeted investigation" and said it was aimed at blocking him participating in the 2026 national vote.