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Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a definite escape threat while under house arrest.

The ex-president was convicted of planning a armed takeover in last fall and handed more than 27 years in jail, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a preventative measure after "new facts" came to light.

This involved seeking to disable his tracking device and a call for a public vigil that could "allow for a potential flight.

Court Filing Details Flight Fears

In a paperwork permitting the arrest, the magistrate said data from the facility tracking his home detention suggested the one-time head of state's plan to remove the tracking monitor to ensure success in his flight.

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

His child, his son Flávio, who works as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on the weekend.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Do you plan to struggle for your country, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."

He said the vigil would be so followers could offer prayers for his well-being and for the restoration of democratic rule in our country."

Diplomatic Refuge Fears

Part of the judge's ruling was the possibility of the former president's "relocation to embassies near the home, considering that the inquiries revealed a background of planning to ask for protection through a diplomatic representation", a declaration said.

The court filing emphasizes that the American diplomatic mission in the national capital, the capital city, is positioned around 8 miles from Bolsonaro's home.

International Reactions

Bolsonaro's legal woes have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, prompting him to impose a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.

The former president is being kept in a national police facility in Brasilia and will experience a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Recent Judicial Appeals

It was only on last Friday that the former president's lawyers asked the High Court to permit him to serve his whole jail sentence under home confinement, with digital surveillance.

They also asked that Bolsonaro be permitted to depart his residence for medical care, saying he required ongoing care for pulmonary infections and other health problems.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was determined responsible of orchestrating a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the national vote to his left-wing rival, Lula.

High Court judges said that he had knowledge of a plot which involved plans to murder the current president and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to detain and kill Alexandre de Moraes - the top judicial official who has been managing the former president's case.

The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a week later, on January 8th, numerous Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged official structures in the capital, Brazil's capital.

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

The justices found that the demonstrators had been provoked by the former president whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and return him to office.

At the time, his attorneys called the 27 years and three months sentence unreasonably severe".

He was also prohibited from running for public office until twenty-sixty - eight years after the completion of his term.

The former president called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.