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

The one-time leader was sentenced of orchestrating a government overthrow in September and sentenced more than 27 years in prison, but he was staying under house arrest pending appeals.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice the presiding justice said the move to detain the elderly politician was a precautionary step after "new facts" emerged.

This included seeking to disable his tracking device and a invitation to a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a chance to flee".

Judicial Records Show Escape Risks

In a document approving the arrest, the judge said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the former leader's aim to disable the electronic ankle bracelet to secure accomplishment in his flight.

This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the demonstration called by his offspring.

His offspring, Flávio, who serves as a congressional representative, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.

His son wrote on online platforms on the previous day: Will you battle for your country, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to battle with us."

He said the vigil would be so supporters could seek divine intervention for his health and for the restoration of democratic rule in our land."

Foreign Shelter Risks

Part of Justice Moraes's decision was the potential of Bolsonaro's "relocation to foreign missions near the home, considering that the investigations revealed a history of arranging to seek refuge through a diplomatic representation", a statement said.

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

Worldwide Consequences

The former president's legal troubles have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Donald Trump, prompting him to enact a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.

He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will experience a detention review on Sunday.

Recent Legal Requests

It was only on Friday that the ex-leader's attorneys asked the High Court to permit him to complete his entire prison term under home confinement, with electronic monitoring.

They also requested that Bolsonaro be authorized to leave his home for healthcare, saying he needed ongoing care for respiratory ailments and other ailments.

Context of Sentencing

Bolsonaro was determined responsible of leading a conspiracy aimed at maintaining his control after he failed to win the 2022 election to his ideological adversary, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Supreme Court justices said that he knew of a scheme which encompassed plans to murder Lula and his VP candidate, Geraldo Alckmin, and to detain and kill the presiding judge - the top judicial official who has been presiding over the former president's case.

The plot was stopped because it didn't receive the endorsement of the military leaders. Lula was took office without issue on 1 January 2023.

But a following week, on January 8th, thousands of his backers stormed and vandalised public facilities in the capital, Brasília.

The police intervened and around 1,500 people were taken into custody.

The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by him whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to step in, reestablish control and return him to office.

At the period, Bolsonaro's lawyers called the decades-long sentence extremely harsh.

He was also banned from seeking elected position until the year 2060 - eight years later after the end of his sentence.

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