The former Brazilian president arrested after being declared a flight risk

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

The ex-president was found guilty of plotting a government overthrow in last fall and handed more than a 27-year term in jail, but he was staying under home detention pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This encompassed trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a call for a demonstration that could enable a possible escape.

Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns

In a document approving the arrest, the magistrate said data from the unit overseeing the former president's confinement suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his getaway".

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

His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a assembly of his backers near his father's house to take place on Saturday evening.

His son wrote on social media on last Friday: Do you plan to struggle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."

He said the gathering would be so backers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the judge's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the inquiries revealed a history of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a declaration said.

The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the capital, the capital city, is located around approximately 13 kilometers from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow conservative nationalist US President Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a half-rate duty on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will undergo a detention review on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under home confinement, with tracking devices.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical care, saying he needed ongoing care for lung conditions and other health problems.

Background on Conviction

The former president was determined responsible of heading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he lost the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

High Court judges said that he was aware of a scheme which involved plans to kill his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The conspiracy was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. The current president was inaugurated without problem on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on the eighth of January, many his backers invaded and destroyed public facilities in the national capital, Brasília.

The law enforcement intervened and around fifteen hundred individuals were arrested.

The magistrates found that the demonstrators had been incited by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the moment, the legal team called the over 27-year sentence extremely harsh.

He was also barred from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was designed to prevent him competing in the 2026 national vote.