The former Brazilian president arrested after being considered a flight risk

Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities concluded he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.

The one-time leader was found guilty of planning a armed takeover in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in incarceration, but he was staying under house arrest pending legal challenges.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Justice Moraes said the move to detain the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.

This involved trying to remove his electronic bracelet and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could facilitate a potential flight.

Legal Document Reveals Flight Fears

In a filing authorising the detention, the magistrate said intelligence from the unit overseeing his home detention suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to ensure success in his escape.

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

His son, Flávio Bolsonaro, who holds office as a congressional representative, called for a gathering of his followers near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or watch it all from your smartphone there on your sofa? I urge you to fight with us."

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

Embassy Asylum Concerns

Part of the magistrate's determination was the possibility of Bolsonaro's transfer to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a record of planning to request asylum through a consular facility", a announcement said.

The legal document highlights that the US embassy in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is positioned around 13km from the former president's residence.

Global Responses

Bolsonaro's legal woes have drawn the ire of fellow right-wing populist United States President President Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being detained in a federal law enforcement building in Brasilia and will have a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.

Latest Court Petitions

It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to authorize him to fulfill his full incarceration period under domestic detention, with electronic monitoring.

They also asked that the former president be authorized to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other illnesses.

Details of Guilty Verdict

He was convicted of leading a plot aimed at keeping him in power after he failed to win the 2022 election to his political opponent, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a plan which involved plans to assassinate his opponent and his running partner, his vice-presidential candidate, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the Supreme Court justice who has been managing his judicial proceedings.

The plot was stopped because it failed to get the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. Lula was took office without problem on January 1st, 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The security forces stepped in and around approximately 1,500 persons were arrested.

The magistrates found that the protesters had been provoked by Bolsonaro whose strategy, they said, was for the national armed forces to step in, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.

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

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

The ex-leader called the trial a targeted investigation" and said it was designed to prevent him participating in the 2026 national vote.